This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
My favorite green smoothie recipe is really a tropical energy drink in disguise. With over 1,300 5-star reviews, it’s time for you to see why blending spinach into a smoothie is a tasty morning habit.
I know a green smoothie doesn’t sound (or look) very appealing at first sight, but it can be beyond delicious. I’ve blended this recipe in kindergarten classrooms (and the kids ask for seconds)! I’ve made it for my teenage daughter’s volleyball friends and they chug it down. I drink this green smoothie recipe almost every morning to boost my energy levels and nourish my body.
Table of contents
Benefits of a Green Smoothie
Drinking this green smoothie is what gave me the body and energy levels to do some incredible things in my late 30’s after having two kids. I’ve run 47 miles of the Grand Canyon, rode a motorcycle across Morocco in a 7-day race, hiked Angel’s Landing and created a backyard garden for my kids.
This simple green smoothie is great for beginners because it’s naturally sweetened with fruit (no added sugars) and loaded with greens and protein. Some of the benefits I’ve noticed when I drink a green smoothie every day are:
- More energy from the natural fruit sugars
- Don’t get sick (my immune system is strong thanks to all the nutrients)
- My digestive system is happy with all the fiber and hydration from a green smoothie
This daily habit has kept my kids healthy when we didn’t have health insurance, energized us in between school and sports and nourished us so we rarely get sick. And when we do, we can usually bounce back with some of my own natural remedies.
My kids started drinking green smoothies when they were 2 years old. Now, they’re teenagers and still drink them. Here’s some photos of them over the years (they have no clue I put these on here!).
When I created this green smoothie recipe, it changed my family’s life in more ways than I ever imagined. It was love at first sip for me, my two kids and 1 million others, who were intimidated by spinach (just like me!). Since them, I’ve published a best-selling green smoothie cookbook and shared my recipes live on The Doctors TV Show…twice!
Best Green Smoothie Ingredients
Everything you need to make a green smoothie is found in a garden, farmer’s market or the produce section of your grocery store. The closer we eat to nature, the better we feel. This smoothie recipe is a great way to start eating healthier foods. Here’s the ingredients we’ll be blending:
- Fresh spinach: Baby spinach is the most mild version to use in smoothies, and also the most easy to find. I suggest using organic spinach because it’s one of the Dirty Dozen. The right ratio of spinach to fruit makes it sweet, as well as helps you reap all the health benefits.
- Frozen pineapple: I buy frozen pineapple at Costco in bulk to make Frozen Smoothie Packs. If it’s on sale, I’ll cut up pineapple and freeze it myself.
- Frozen mango: You’ll find this next to the ice cream in the freezer section. I love how it’s already peeled and cut for you and ready to add to the blender. If fresh mango is on sale, you can always cut the mango and freeze yourself.
- Fresh banana: Bananas add a creaminess to smoothies that is hard to replicate. It’s magic!
- Water: The liquid base in the smoothie is water. Use filtered water to avoid any unnecessary chemicals or pollutants. I like using a Berkey Water Filter that I keep on my countertop.
Fresh VS frozen fruit
I prefer using frozen fruit because it chills down your smoothie without using ice, which can dull your blender blades overtime. I use fresh bananas in my smoothies because I like how creamy they make it.
How to Blend a Green Smoothie
The only equipment you need to make a green smoothie is a high-speed blender for smoothies. A juicer or food processor won’t work to get you a creamy drink you’ll want to make over and over. Once you have a blender, you can successfully make the best green smoothie recipe following the steps below.
Blend spinach with liquid base
Blend 1 cup of spinach (or another leafy greens of your choice) in a blender with 1 cup of liquid. Adding spinach to your smoothie boosts the phytonutrients and fiber, which then slows down the absorption of sugars into your body. Blend until all leafy chunks are gone.
Beginner Blending Tip
When you’re making your first few green smoothies, follow my Green Smoothie Formula to get the perfect blend. Don’t just throw spinach and kale in the blender. Chances are, it’ll taste nasty if you wing it right out of the gate.
Add frozen fruit to blender
Toss in frozen mango, pineapple and bananas in the blender. Blend on high until smooth and creamy. If you want your smoothie to be extra chilly or possibly even be a smoothie bowl, use more frozen fruit. You can freeze your favorite fruits like ripe bananas, grapes, pineapple or berries.
How to sweeten a smoothie
If the smoothie isn’t as sweet as you would like, add in some natural sweeteners like bananas, mango, oranges, honey or pitted dates.
Scoop in the superfoods
Once the smoothie is nice and creamy, you can add in superfoods. Chia seeds, hemp hearts and flax seed are all great choices. You can turn any smoothie recipe into a meal replacement by adding a serving of homemade protein powder to any smoothie recipe.
Blend smoothie on high speed
In order to break down the cell walls of the plants, you need to blend on high speed. You shouldn’t have any leafy chunks in your smoothie if your blender is powerful enough.
Drink green smoothie immediately
To get the maximum amount of nutrients from a smoothie, drink it immediately after blending it. The longer your smoothie is exposed to oxygen, the more it breaks down and the nutrients deteriorate. This is called oxidation. To minimize this, you can store your smoothe in the fridge with an air-tight lid for up to 48 hours, yet I think it tastes best if consumed within 4 hours after blending.
Green Smoothie Recipe Variations
It’s easy to swap ingredients based on what you have on hand. If you’d like more green smoothie recipes, check out these popular ones below:
- My son is obsessed with this mango orange smoothie recipe.
- Try this tropical pina colada smoothie to head to the beach asap.
- Want to boost your metabolism? Then this is a great fat burning green smoothie recipe.
- This kale smoothie will surprise even your taste buds.
Best Green Smoothie Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup spinach
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup pineapple frozen
- ½ cup mango frozen
- 1 banana
- 1 serving homemade protein powder optional
Instructions
- Measure: Tightly pack spinach in a measuring cup.
- Add: Put spinach to blender with water. Blend together until all chunks are gone. (Should resemble green water when blended well).
- Toss: Pineapple, mango and banana to blender. I like to use frozen pineapple and mangos to chill the smoothie down and save time cutting and prepping. It’s a win-win!
- Blend: It all together until smooth and creamy. Depending on your blender, this could take as little as 30 seconds or as long as 2 minutes.
- Pour: Into a glass and serve immediately.
- Store: In the fridge with a lid until ready to drink.
Equipment
Video
Notes
- Not a fan of bananas? Swap it for 1/4 avocado, additional 1/2 cup mango or 1/2 cup peaches.
- You can use 1 cup pineapple if you’re out of mango.
- Frozen fruit is recommended to chill the smoothie (and save time cutting and washing).
Nutrition
Common Questions
You won’t be able to taste the spinach if you use the proper ratio of fruit to spinach. This green smoothie tastes like a mango pineapple smoothie with a hint of banana flavor.
Green smoothies are the healthiest fast food out there. Blending spinach and fruit into a smoothie is a great way to boost your immune system, increase fiber intake, and boost your energy levels. A kale or spinach smoothie has incredible health benefits with additional phytonutrients. What we eat can truly transform our bodies and our lives in powerful ways.
Most smoothies you buy or find online are made with just fruit and fruit juice. This makes them crazy high in sugar, which can cause inflammation and consuming excess calories. A green smoothie, on the other hand, is made with fruit, vegan milks and leafy greens, typically spinach or kale. They’re loaded with iron, potassium, fiber and vitamins galore. If you’re not sure which leafy greens to use in your smoothie, check out my Ultimate Leafy Greens Guide for Smoothies.
Any blender will work, yet to get the creamiest green smoothie you’ll need a high speed blender. Check out my Best Blenders for Smoothies guide, where I reviewed countless blenders to find the best ones for green smoothies. The key is to get rid of leafy chunks, blend quickly and provide tons of value for the price. Hint: not all of them cost $400.
For busy weeks, you can create Frozen Smoothie Packs that you prep on the weekend and enjoy all week, or month. It’ll only take you 5 minutes every morning to have a green smoothie ready to go. You can also blend your smoothie the night before and store it in your fridge until ready to drink.
I love this recipe! It’s delicious!
I want to give it a 5 not a 4!
Thanks for the 5 star Nichole! So glad you love the recipe too. Happy blending girl!!!!
This recipe was amazing! It had a wonderful tropical fruit taste while also nice & creamy. My whole family, including two picky kids, loved it.
[…] Recipe at Simple Green Smoothies […]
which smoothie for eye health which has the most anrioxidants
Hi Jackie,
Looking to blend for eye health. Carrots can be a great option! Check out our favorite recipes + how to blend this rawkin’ orange veggie here…
[…] looking for our Protein Packed Twist, you’ve come to the right place! So here it is… Simple Green Smoothie’s Beginners Luck smoothie, plus our Protein bonus including Whey of Life Protein Powder. Because of its flavorless quality, […]
33 GRAMS OF SUGAR?? Stay away! Zero stars.
Omg and that’s in one serving!! In a comment below you recommend you “drink the rest later in the day”. So just a casual 66g of sugar. Around 13 teaspoons full.
Hi Jenny,
Each smoothie has 3 cups of fruit in it, and it is recommended that an adult has 1.5 to 2 cups of fruit a day. When you drink 16oz of our green smoothie recipe you will be meeting, or just under your daily intake for fruit. If you feel like that is too much fruit, feel free to do 2 cups of fruit in each smoothie with 3 cups of leafy greens. Hope that helps. 🙂
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/low-sugar-fruits
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/
All very interesting. But what about your teeth?? Juiced high sugar fruit in this quantity will rot your teeth.
Fruit and fruit juice rot your teeth equally fast. Trick is to wait at least half an hour before brushing.
Hi Jenny,
Worried about your teeth? Straws are a great option + check out our Homemade Coconut Oil Toothpaste!
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/homemade-toothpaste
Tried Beginner’s Luck today, and it was #LoveAtFirstSip!
Scared of leafy greens as a smoothie drink so I tried this one recipe only. I was expecting the spinach to be the overwhelming flavor, but it wasn’t. Either I followed the recipe wrong, or that green smoothie just tastes naturally yummy!
Hi I am transitioning to a vegan plant based diet for added health reasons I am type 1 diabetic but this recipe seems way to much sugar for me would I be able to substitute in some kale, lettuce green powder linseeds etc and take out some fruits or substitute for lower sugar fruits apple kiwi cuecumbers. Thanks in advance x
Hi Lexie,
Everyone especially those with diabetes all have different amounts of fruit/natural sugars they should be consuming each day. So don’t worry about changing our recipes up! They’re here to inspire you! I love turning our green smoothie ratio on it’s head! Instead of blending 3 cups fruit, 2 cups leafy greens, and 2 cups liquid base – blend 3 cups leafy greens, 2 cups fruit, + 2 cups liquid base. Also, learn more about our favorite low-sugar fruits here…
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/low-sugar-fruits
I love this smoothie! Thank you for the recipe!
This sounds like a delicious smoothie – but I completely agree with Sashim on this one. wayy too much sugar. Yes, it is recommended to have 3 servings of fruit – but NOT all at one time! I do think you should rethink posting this recipe as “full of vitamins minerals etc” to include that anyone with pre diabetes or type 2 diabetes mellitus should NOT think this is totally “healthy” drink. IN fact, bananas are categorized as a starch by most dietitians, not a fruit because of its glycemic value.
Hi Anra,
You’re right. All of our bodies are different + we need different fruits + vegetables for a healthy lifestyle + that can look very different for everyone. If you feel like this recipe has too much fruit, feel free to do 2 cups of fruit in each smoothie with 3 cups of leafy greens. Hope that helps.
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/low-sugar-fruits
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/
Can not wait to try this I love smoothies
HI Tammula,
YAY!! Don’t forget to reach back out + let me know what you think!
Thank you so much for the recipe. Delicious! I’m in the process of regaining my health and decided that a green smoothie to start my day would be a great start. Another bonus is that my children love it. Feels great knowing that they are getting a good portion of their veggies and fruit too!
WARNING: 33 grams of sugar = 8 teaspoons of sugar. Yes it’s from fruit but it’s still a ton of sugar. Also, 1 cup of spinach is probably only one ounce total. If you are having this for dessert then great. But if you are drinking this for health benefits then you need to double or triple the spinach and cut the fruit by 1/3 at a minimum. It will STILL taste great. I actually use more veggies by WEIGHT than I do fruit, but note that I also add vanilla protein powder which has Stevia to sweeten it. Hope this feedback helps!
Hi Sashim,
Each smoothie has 3 cups of fruit in it, and it is recommended that an adult has 1.5 to 2 cups of fruit a day. When you drink 16oz of our green smoothie recipe you will be meeting, or just under your daily intake for fruit. If you feel like that is too much fruit, feel free to do 2 cups of fruit in each smoothie with 3 cups of leafy greens. Hope that helps. 🙂
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/low-sugar-fruits
https://simplegreensmoothies.com/
Mix with Coconut milk
Would this be good with coconut water?? Or do you think it would taste weird?
Hi Christy,
It would be amazing!! I love the refreshing flavor of coconut water + think it would be a great addition to this recipe. Remember our recipes are here to inspire you, so don’t hesitate to change them up!
can you use apple juice or any other type of juice instead of water
Hi Sexy Mama,
You definitely can! We love blending with fresh squeeze juice. Just know that the natural sugar found in the juice, will significantly increase the sugar content of our recipes. I usually suggest blending 50% juice, with 50% water to help manage this increase. Hope this helps!